Lake Houston: This is one of the best catfish lakes in Texas. Anglers fishing cut shad on the bottom along the edges of river or creek channels can land their 25-fish limit of blues, with some catching fish weighing 3-10 pounds.

Luce's Bayou and the East Fork of the San Jacinto River can produce good fishing for largemouth bass and crappie.

Lake Livingston: The second-largest reservoir wholly in Texas holds good populations of most popular game fish, including largemouth bass and crappie.

But the top attractions are the white and striped bass that roam the open-water reaches on the southern half of the reservoir and the catfish (blues and flatheads) throughout the lake.

Sam Rayburn: Rayburn provides some of the state's best largemouth bass fishing, both for quantity of fish and quality. But bass aren't its only attraction. The lake holds a tremendous crappie fishery that is at its best during late spring through summer, when "white perch" concentrate around brush piles in 15-30 feet of water and gobble small jigs or live shiners.

Conroe: The lake holds a thriving largemouth bass population that includes trophy-class fish weighing 10 pounds or more. It also provides good fishing for white/striped hybrid bass and crappie. But perhaps its premier attraction is its world-class catfish fishery. Some of the best fishing for channel and blue cats occurs during spring and summer.

Colorado River: For freshwater anglers who combine paddling with light-tackle fishing, the Colorado River between Austin and La Grange offers outstanding potential. The river holds a wealth of fish – Guadalupe bass in the runs and riffles; largemouth bass and catfish in the deep, slow pools; and sunfish just about everywhere.